As long as the incumbent candidate enters the race with a campaign "war chest" of hundreds of millions of dollars, the opposing candidate absolutely has to compete to raise the same kind of money.

Both parties' "war chest" should be required to start out empty on the day they formally announce their candidacy, in my estimation.

January 13, 2012

WASHINGTON – President Obama and the Democratic Party have raised more than $240 million for his re-election, swamping his rivals' fundraising as the president races to build a war chest to defend against the eventual Republican nominee and deep-pocketed GOP "super PACS."

Obama collected more than $42 million during the closing three months of the year (2011), his campaign announced Thursday, while more than $24 million went to the Democratic National Committee, to help build a national campaign infrastructure ahead of the November election.

The fundraising puts Obama roughly on par with the amounts raised by President George W. Bush at this point in his 2004 re-election effort. But this year's contest is markedly different.....

Obama, DNC amass $240 million campaign war chest